A data carrier system is known in which a data carrier (e.g. a radio frequency identification (RFID)) capable of storing a certain amount of data is mounted to an object, and a reader device reads identification information stored in the data carrier, thereby making it possible to provide various services such as identification of the object.
The services provided by the data carrier system include a navigation service using a position in which a data carrier is installed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Conventionally, in the case of providing this type of service by using a position in which a data carrier is installed, position information indicating the position of the data carrier is stored in the data carrier itself, a server, or the like, and various services are provided based on the position information thus stored. In the following, a description is given of an example of this navigation service.
First, data carriers each storing location information (including the above-mentioned position information) indicating a location at which a data carrier is attached are attached to various places in town (e.g., bus stops and stores). When a user walks around the town while carrying a reader device (e.g., a cellular phone equipped with a data carrier reading function), the reader device acquires the location information from the data carrier located within a radio wave-reachable range.
The reader device that has acquired the location information acquires provided information (e.g., bus approach information and information on products on sale) corresponding to a location indicated by the acquired location information. Specifically, information is acquired by acquiring information stored in the reader device in advance or by connecting to the network each time. Thus the reader device acquires the provided information corresponding to the location at which the data carrier is attached, to thereby provide the acquired provided information to the user.
[Patent Document 1] JP 2004-206590 A (paragraph 0004)